//------------------------------// // REVERB ARROWSMITH // Story: Fire & Rain: Applejack and the Queen of Knives // by Limbo Theorem //------------------------------// FIREBASE APPLE CORNERS, COLORADO 240308TJUL30: In a makeshift prefab building being used as a command center, several officers leaned over a computer system. Looking over computer screens and various maps and charts, the officers waited for a silent signal. Finally, from a console towards the back of the room, a communications specialist called out, “Col. Range? Col. Armor? We have Sublevel J online – they say that we are go.” Lt. Col. Long Range, a raspberry-haired man with tired yellow eyes, gave Shining a haggard look. “Looks like it’s finally a go, Colonel.” Shining nodded and put a headset on. “Splash 6 to Spacebase. Do you read? Over.” “This is Spacebase,” Lightning’s voice said on the other end. “We have go,” Shining spoke. “Execute operation.” “Roger that, sir,” Lighting replied. “Operation REVERB ARROWSMITH is a go. Wait one.” A pause while there was conversation on the other end. “Air cover is scrambling and will be readying attack in two hours. Repeat, aircraft are scrambling now and will engage in two hours.” “Roger that. Standby for further instructions, Spacebase.” He took off his headset and looked at Range. “Give all units the word: we’re on the clock.” APPLE CORNERS, COLORADO 230431TJUL30: Rubbing his eyes, Toffee Apple yawned as he tried to stay awake. He wanted to go to sleep, but his mom and dad had woken him up, saying that it was more important than anything. Not really understanding, the five-year-old boy got out of bed and followed his parents into their bedroom, and then onto the balcony that was on the other side of their bedroom. That was the first sign that something was really important: neither of his parents ever let him come onto the balcony without supervision and they themselves only went out there on special occasions. The moment he did, his father hoisted him onto his shoulders. “You awake, champ?” his father asked him gently. Toffee nodded, yawning, “Yeah.” He then looked around and saw his mother, watching the sky, holding his sister Golden Star. At three years old, she really didn’t understand what was going on. For that matter, he didn’t, either. His mother looked at him and smiled. “Something magical is about to happen,” she told him. At that, he perked up. His mom knew magic, and when she said something magical was about to happen, she was never wrong. A few seconds later, the air erupted with loud screams. Aircraft streaked by, more than he had ever seen in his young life, all headed towards the old city. They moved far faster than anything he had seen at the Army base before, all of them moving in unison and with purpose. “Wow!” he chirped, amazed. Even Golden, asleep as she was, woke up and stared at the sky, her golden-yellow hair covering her pink eyes. “What is that?” “That,” his father said, “is the military. They’re heading off today to save Canterlot – to beat the aliens for once and for all.” His mother looked up at him, then at his sister. “And do you know what’s even more special about that?” she said as she leaned next to them, the family coming together. “No,” Toffee admitted, knowing his mother would tell him soon enough. It was probably magic, he guessed. “The main soldier in that fight’s mah sister – your aunt Applejack,” his father said with a soft voice that sounded both proud and a little worried at the same time. “She’s goin’ in t’ save the day.” MARS JUNCTION, COLORADO 230502TJUL30: Several JLTVs paused in the shattered road amongst the ruins of Mars Junction, Colorado. The suburb of Canterlot immediately to the southwest of the city limits, it had been a working-class town with single-family homes, factories and the first hints of farming equipment and rural life before it turned into exurban lands southwards. At least, that was how it had been. Now, it was nothing but destroyed roads and burnt-out husks of human life that had once been there. A rusted metal sign, still legible and still standing after all this time, pointed the way towards Camp Everfree, “The Woodland Vacation Getaway Only 82 Miles East of Canterlot!” Getting out of the lead vehicle, Applejack looked at the old sign and wondered if the place was still standing, or if Gloriosa Daisy and her brother were still alive. She’d flirted with Timber Spruce a bit, but nothing had come of it, largely due to the distance between where they lived. Now, that was a moot point. To the north, muffled thumps roiled the air. From here they didn’t sound like much, but up close, she knew that was where their air support was throwing everything they had in order to make an opening for them. Spending time in nostalgia wasn’t something she could afford. The other senior officers, chiefs and NCOs got out of the vehicles as well, moving over to where she was. “Okay,” Applejack said to Chrysalis, “show’s all yours. Where’s your folks?” Chrysalis, currently wearing black cargo pants, combat boots and a light black military jacket over odd teal-colored body armor, looked through binoculars. She had her rifle slung over her shoulder and peeking out of her jacket, Applejack noted her friend wore a chest pistol harness and kept her sidearm there. “Should be here any moment.” She then lowered the binoculars, fished in a pocket for a small object and pulled it out. “A kazoo?” one of Flash’s sergeants asked, looking at the spymaster as if she were mad as she blew a quick tune on it. “Yup. We found that for some reason, the Octos don’t seem to pay much attention to it,” she pointed out. “Maybe it sounds like something from their homeworld, or maybe they just can’t hear it. We don’t try to abuse it much, because if we broadcast on that frequency, well, I’m sure they can probably pick that up.” A second later, a matching kazoo sound flitted through the air, a mated set of notes to Chrysalis’ own. A few seconds after that, there was the scraping of concrete together before several people, dressed similarly to Chrysalis, came out of the ruined buildings. All of them had the same easy-yet-wary stance that Applejack and her SEALs did, and these folks were similarly scruffy, which meant they were either likely former operators or had been through similar training. The lead was a burly man whose eyes had a gruff, drill sergeant look to it. If Applejack had to guess, she would have said he was former Marines. He had a familiar face under his dark-cyan and red hair, which was long and stringy. His eyes, though a striking shade of violet, were hard and scanning for the first sign of trouble. Beside him was a short Asian girl that didn’t look more than a teenager, and from the way she was gripping the man’s arm, might very well have been. “Who’s the kid?” Chrysalis asked him. “Who the fuck cares, you old hag?!” the teen spat back. “Charming. Again, who is she, CH?” The man had the grace to scratch the back of his head and look embarrassed. “Wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Chrys,” he demurred. “It’s a long story.” “Oh, I like stories,” she said, folding her arms. “I especially like the stories where my subordinates pick up little girls because they get lonely at night. I mean, yes, a lot of laws on the books pretty much went out the window after Decimation, but could you at least have tried to find someone who looked eighteen?” “CH”’s eyes went wide in shock. The girl flipped him off. “Sit and rotate, bitch!” she snarled. “Then again, you might like it.” “People shouldn’t have stopped spanking their kids,” the woman said coolly. Applejack sighed. “Look, as entertaining as this is, we’re all in the open and sitting ducks if the Octos decide to take potshots at us, so can we shitcan the chatter and get moving?” One of the other Changelings, a stout Asiatic woman with her hair in braids and carrying a heavy machine gun, nodded. Looking at the girl, she said in an accented voice, “Behave yourself, little one.” The teen turned to face the woman. “But Yona….” she whined. “No. That is our leader and it is unbecoming of you to treat her like such.” “Fine,” she groaned and stormed off. Another woman, a Hispanic one with a wiry look, said to “CH”, “I’ll take care of it. She usually listens to me when she gets like this.” “Thank you, Smolder,” the man told her. Smolder gave one even, silent look at Chrysalis before heading off after the kid. Chrysalis looked at everyone. “Okay, we’ll hold off on introductions until we’re safe. Where’re we going?” “About a five-minute drive down to the Mars Junction subway station. I already have two of our folks by the old underground parking structure that leads to the subsurface accessway so you can get your JLTVs down there. Most of the Blue Line is intact, though we’ve never pushed our way completely down to Canterlot itself.” He started walking in the direction they needed to head, with shattered streets and destroyed cars and buildings ahead. “We need to get a move on – the airstrikes aren’t going to last forever and knowing the Octos, they’ll probably have cuttlefish in the air soon. All it takes is one of those fuckers to spot us and we’re doomed.” “Cuttlefish?” Fluttershy asked. “What serves as their strike fighter assets; they look like that, so that’s what we call them,” Flash told her. “We don’t know if they’re another breed of Octos or something else – they look like they’re alive – but they’re very lethal, explode completely when taken down and we’ve never successfully captured one to study.” “Look, can we drop the high school reunion shit and get going?” Tempest drawled. “Man’s right – sitting here is a death sentence.” No more arguments to be had, the group saddled back up on their JLTVs and moved forward, following the small group towards the Mars Junction station of the Canterlot Metropolitan Rail system. CMR had once spread not only through Canterlot, but through a good part of the surrounding suburbs as well and was probably their best bet of getting into the city undetected. It was a slow and steady move through Mars Junction, looking through the burnt-out ruins of the town as they made their way to the subway. One of the things that had caught the attention of Applejack, Fluttershy and Flash was the nearly faded bus stop poster for a film from five years ago: The Obese Blue Line, which was supposed to be a buddy cop film featuring comedians Fats Gogo…and Pinkie Pie. “Oh, hey, I remember that movie,” one of the soldiers in Flash’s group stated. “That’s the one about the fat-ass mall cop who wanted to be a real cop and the female detective that had to put up with his shit, right?” “Yeah, I remember,” said another. “Honestly, it was a shitty film. They had Pinkie play the straight man in that one and she’s definitely not the straight man type. Should’ve been the other way around or something.” “Personally, I thought she was better in Trainwreck and Trainwreck, Too!” one of the SEALs piped up. “Much better for her.” “Wasn’t that the one where she played the ditzy granddaughter of a railroad owner who was trying to save his business or something like that?” one of the Changelings asked. “Yeah. She had some really great lines and it was an old-fashioned slapstick film, which she’s great at.” The SEAL shrugged. “Eh, she’s probably dead now like so many of those Hollywood types. Fuckin’ world we live in, man.” “Secure the chatter, everyone,” Applejack called out, more out of irritation than actual concern. “We don’t know what’s around and we don’t want to get caught in a firefight right now. So keep your fucking lips zipped until we get underground, am I clear?” The rest of the way was in silence, with standard movement. Flash’s troops were immediately deployed to the tops of the buildings to make sure they wouldn’t be ambushed, while the SEALs spread out to hunt for potential enemies. Fluttershy looked at Applejack, forgetting about the latter’s order. “Do you think she’s right about Pinkie?” “Honestly, Flutters? Part of me – well, most of me, really, doesn’t give a fuck,” Applejack admitted. “She was our friend, AJ.” “Yeah, she was also the one that had the nastiest words for Sunset – that should’ve been a sign where she was going in her career,” the SEAL replied. “Maybe she’s different now if she’s still alive – hell, we all are, truth be told. But…whether I think she’s a bitch or not, we’ll probably have to find her someday, so, yes, I hope she’s still kicking somewhere on this mudball.” There was a click of noise, and the group stopped immediately. Applejack brought her gun to the ready and signaled for Fluttershy to go head back to the safety of the vehicles. She then used hand signals for Tempest to check it out. Tempest nodded her head and moved forward, silent and immediately disappeared behind a couple of buildings. A few seconds later, she came back out with her rifle lowered. “Okay, we’re all clear,” she called back. “Oh?” Applejack called in reply. “Yeah, Jackie – just a couple of wild dogs fucking. Scattered as soon as they saw me. Though, I don’t even think I’ve seen a Chihuahua get down and funky with a Labrador before today.” “Didn’t need to know that shit, Temp.” “All a part of the service, Jackie. All a part of the service.” Finally, they heard explosions in the distance, and a call over the radio. “Sierra Six Delta, Splash 5. Come in, over.” Applejack pulled out her helmet mic and queued the line. “This is Sierra Six Delta Actual. What’s up?” “We’re starting to pull away – our air assets are taking heavy casualties and are running Bingo and Winchester. We also have bandits in the air and have heavier resistance than expected. If you guys aren’t in a safe spot, you need to move into one soonest, over.” Applejack looked forward towards the intersection of Monarch Avenue and Lemontwist Boulevard; a block further was the Mars Junction station. “We’re almost there. How much more can you give us? Over.” A new voice came over the line – Lightning Dust, all the way over at the Mountain: “Sierra Six Delta, this is Spacebase. Jackie, I don’t think I can spare more air assets. I’m losing a lot of birds up there right now and unless we want to start relying on Canadian assets or have the Air Force fly Gulf War-era aircraft, I’m going to have to pull them back to the barn!” “Do what you gotta do, Colonel,” she replied. “We’re about a block away, and we can hunker down for the night. Get a hold of the resistance and let them know to contact us.” “Roger that. Pulling them back now. Good hunting, Jackie. Spacebase, over.” “At this point, we’re going River City until further notice. Have them watch the comms, all. Sierra Six Delta, out.” Applejack cut the line, just to make her point. Going “River City” – reduced communications – meant that unless it was vitally important or to let them know that they’d failed in their mission, they would have to operate with complete radio silence. Until then, they were completely on their own, with no chance of backup or reinforcements, and it was either meet up with the resistance and succeed in their mission or fail horribly and end up as red smears on the crumbling flagstones of Canterlot. The latter really wasn’t Applejack’s idea of fun. Finally, the rumble of aircraft in the sky sounded as F-35As, F-22Cs, and even a few Marine F-22Bs blew past, heading back to base. More than one showed signs of damage and one was even heavily smoking and would likely not make it back intact. “Okay, that’s our cue – everyone get to position, now!” Applejack called out to the group as they made their way towards the station. Those on foot headed towards the main stairway down into the station, while a few of the Changelings present redirected the vehicles towards the access ramps, located at the underground parking structure just down the street. Applejack stayed topside, watching out for the eventual crossing of the enemy. Undoubtedly, one or two of the Octos would be chasing down the aircraft, hoping to put a few more of the birds out of business. Seconds later, a trio of cuttlefish-like creatures moved through the air at high speeds, not so much flying as swimming. Mostly a mottled brown in color, various parts of their bodies glowed with a greenish blue light that flickered, as if giving off some sort of energy radiation. One of them spat a white light towards the horizon and in the far-off distance an explosion could be heard. Then one of the cuttlefish stopped…and lowered down into Mars Junction. Immediately, those still on the surface hid behind whatever they could to avoid detection. To her personal disgust, Applejack took cover by a rusted and collapsed bus stop, which also had a copy of the The Obese Blue Line poster there and she found herself practically with Pinkie’s photocopied eyes on her. Stop staring at me, you Goddamn bitch, Applejack mentally seethed, and she wasn’t sure whether she meant the cuttlefish or her former friend. Applejack shifted slightly to get a look at Tempest, who hunkered down next to the ruins of a bus and had a clear shot at the cuttlefish. Given that it was about seventy feet in length, give or take, and about the size of an F-22C, the creature had been able to maneuver down into the middle of the intersection with nearly no problem at all. Strange W-shaped eyes looked around as if searching for prey, and the creature’s body seemed to hum with a sound that was both watery and vibrant, organic and yet mechanical at the same time. She could feel the creature looking in her direction. On the poster, she could feel Pinkie’s eyes boring into her as if challenging her to go out and take on the thing, a move that would be instant death. Maybe there was a time when Applejack would have done so, if only to join her fiancé in the afterlife. But she had a mission to do now, people were depending on her… …and she had still to make it up to Sunset. So she ignored her own imagination and the bale creature just feet away from her, waiting for her to make a move that would end in death. A second later, the other two cuttlefish soared ahead, headed back towards Canterlot. Apparently bored with playing with its prey or following some other imperative, the great creature lifted back up towards the sky and followed its brethren, headed back towards the ruined city. From where she was, Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. “That was a close one, AJ,” Flash told her. She turned and found that he’d been right next to her the whole time and she hadn’t even noticed. “Yeah, fucking tell me about it,” she admitted. “Everyone below decks now?” “Pretty much. I’m leaving a few of my folks out here to stand watch and make sure the Octos don’t drop in on us, but we should be pretty safe at this point. Plus, Flutters is setting up downstairs right now and I don’t want to get in her way.” “Oh really?” “Yeah. Remind me to tell you about the time I did that. My ears are still ringing from how much she chewed me out over that.” As the senior group of her medical NCOs surrounded her, Fluttershy gave a quick briefing: “We’ll use Platform Four for our makeshift hospital. We brought enough inflatable beds and portable medical equipment to support twenty beds, and we can go across the street and hit that old department store for sheets and such – there should still be enough, sealed in plastic bags after all these years, that should be sterile enough to act as privacy sheets.” “What about an OR, Major?” one of the sergeants asked. “Take apart everything you can in the trains on Platforms One and Three and see what we can do to use them to our advantage. Once we clear everything out, we can seal off two of the most intact cars and use that as an OR, with a third as an airlock space.” “That’s not going to be airtight, ma’am.” “We have sealing sprays and we’ll use the most intact cars for our needs – it will have to suffice,” she told him. “Any questions?” When her medics shook their heads, she then said, “Wait until dark and then move with your assigned partner. I expect you all to make it back alive and unharmed, because we need to stay that way to help those who aren’t or won’t be in the near future. Get to work, everyone. Dismissed.” As the group broke up, Fluttershy sighed and walked over to a group of crates. She needed to start the inventory to make sure that her plan was going to work. She had no idea how many people she was going to need to take care of, and everything was just estimates. “That was impressive, Flutters,” Bolt said as she walked up to her friend and superior officer. “Didn’t know you had it in you.” Fluttershy pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Neither did I, Boltie. Frankly, being in charge of this whole thing frightens me.” “I thought that SEAL friend of yours was in charge? After all, she’s a field officer and you’re just medical corps.” “Yes, but this is a dual humanitarian/combat operation, so when it comes to the former part, I have command,” Fluttershy noted. “AJ only has command in combat situations. More important, though, she’s used to that sort of thing. I’m not really the commanding type. And yes, before you comment, I know I oversaw the CSH, but it never felt like ‘command’ to me, if you get what I mean.” “Still, I think you’re doing a great job. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to set up my communications post and the folks I brought with me. Fortunately, because this station was the southern terminus for the CMR Blue Line, they have a backup operations room here and that should be perfect for my soldiers’ needs. Let me know if you need anything else.” “Will do.” Bolt gave her a pat on the shoulder and left the doctor to her work. Over on Platform Four, in the dusty, cobweb filled remains of the coffee shop, a different kind of briefing was being held. The Queen Bee held court with her Changelings and it was time for some overdue explanations. “So, CH,” Chrysalis said, currently seated reverse-style on a dusty chair and leaning over its back, “want to tell me about the kid?” “Can I get away with saying that being the older brother of the Vice President of the US has some privileges?” he commented. “CH…no, Pharynx, you could be fucking the queen of England and I wouldn’t give a fuck.” “Uh, doesn’t the UK have a king now? Queen passed away even before Decimation,” one of the Changelings cracked, only to be immediately cowed by a stare from Chrysalis. “I see you all think you somehow became the Diamond Dogs because I don’t have a direct hand in things anymore,” Chrysalis said in a venomous tone towards her subordinate. “Chrys…look, you got pulled away from us and sent to Langley for two years, and then at the Mountain for five. We’ve been running on our own in the field for seven years and if I can be honest? This isn’t the team you used to lead. Not anymore,” Pharynx commented. “Look, I remember when Tymbal retired and passed this group to me – I was her fucking protégée,” Chrysalis hissed. “We’re not like Rover and his Goddamn Diamond Dogs, doing whatever we want and hiding behind legal technicalities. Last time I checked, we were still the good guys, even if we’re a little too edgy to be squeaky clean. So don’t slip the fucking leash on me, got it?” “Yes and note that I still report to you,” he told her. “But for the past five years, we’ve been out there in the field, doing the dirtiest of dirty missions when special forces weren’t around. Remember, we were in Paris helping the evacuation there when the shit in Boston went down and Rover and his assholes fucked everything up. If I had my way, we’d hunt him and his traitorous assholes down and kill them for what they did to those innocent civilians. Yes, they rioted, but the response was not worth it – and I hold Nebbish responsible!” “Yes, and that’s probably why he offed himself in his office and why your kid brother is now Veep,” Chrysalis said. “But you’re skipping my point.” “No, I was getting to it. You obviously know Smolder and Silverstream, since you recruited them; and I introduced you to Sandbar when I recruited him from SWCC. But many of the folks you know are gone: Nyx, Idol Hooves, Brownie Bun, Flufflepuff, Coldfire – all of them. And I had to make do, so I picked up a few strays along the way.” He pointed to the woman from earlier. “Yona joined us after that disastrous mission in Mongolia. Found her when she escaped a burning building, naked as a jaybird and literally beat an Octo to death with its ray stick, then picked up an NSV off a Mongolian army half-track and started shooting like it was nothing.” Yona shrugged. “Learned from a soldier who taught me how to use one in return for a full weekend of fun. I said why not? The shooting turned out to be more entertaining than sleeping with him, anyway.” Pharynx laughed and continued. “Anyway, she’s a fucking genius when it comes to languages.” Yona shrugged. “It was profitable to be able to say more than just ‘fuck me’ in multiple languages,” she commented. “Besides, I prefer this job better.” “And what do you get out of this?” Chrysalis asked plainly. “When this is over, I want a ranch in the American Midwest,” Yona said. “I’ll raise cows, be a cowgirl and screw whoever I want because that won’t be my job.” “Always good to have motivation,” Chrysalis said sardonically. “Okay, who’s next?” He then pointed to a thin man with spiky blue hair. “Gallus here is probably one of the very last DGSE operatives left in the world. He says he hasn’t heard from his folks in ages, so he hooked up with us after Paris.” Gallus smiled and spoke in a French accent. “Always preferred America anyway. When this is all over, I want to retire somewhere in Montana with a stream and a log cabin and forget about all this shit.” He next pointed to the thin guy flipping a knife in his hand. He had a goth-like aura amongst him, and his long teal hair, similar in color to Chrysalis’ own, didn’t make things better. “That guy over there is Stygian. I recruited him a year ago in the ruins of New York. Said he used to be a mafia enforcer, until the Octos destroyed everything.” Without looking at any of them, Stygian commented, “I don’t expect to get some sort of reward or be the good guy after all this. I know what I used to do for a living and so do you. I just want to get back at the fuckers that killed my girl. A little payback, you know?” “And when this is all over?” Chrysalis looked at him. He looked back at her and she saw in his eyes the same barely controlled look that she’d seen in many of the Diamond Dogs. “Kill me, throw me in prison, or let me go – I don’t fucking care. My life was already over the day they killed my Diamond Rose.” A haunted look came over his face as he admitted, “She was the only light in my life.” Chrysalis then turned back to Pharynx. “So, lastly, what about the kid?” “Ocellus?” He shifted in his seat. “Ossy’s a special case, Chrys. We didn’t look for her – she came looking for us. Do you remember that mission we had in Cambodia at the start of the war?” Chrysalis nodded. “Yeah. Sombra wasn’t happy that we completely destroyed a priceless ancient relic of mankind, but the place was filled with the enemy – it was either dust Angkor Wat or lose Southeast Asia to the Octos.” “Yeah, well, after that shit, we took a break for a week in Phnom Penh. Always liked the place, or at least I did until some little shit came up and pickpocketed my wallet and my gun. We all went after her and it turned out it was a good thing, too – she did it because she was trying to report a hidden Octo base, and the local authorities weren’t listening to her because kid and street urchin. Fortunately, we got a hold of the Royal Cambodian Army and we managed to take it out before they could make a move. But afterwards, the kid didn’t have anywhere to go and no one to take care of her. “So we took her in. It was Idol that named her – Ocellus, after his mother, if I remember correctly. And it was Nyx that taught her English and such, though everyone’s pitched in. She’s part mascot, part team kid, and—” Chrysalis understood immediately. “Pharynx…she’s not Tealove.” “And I never said she was. Ossy…she’s not a replacement for my daughter, okay? Yes, you know I’m in all this shit past retirement because my wife and child didn’t make it out of Houston. But Ossy’s not a replacement. If anything, she’s my protégée, just like you were Tymbal’s.” “Tymbal recruited me from college when I was in my early twenties,” Chrysalis reminded him. “She didn’t find me on the streets of some Godforsaken backwater shithole. And like I said, we’re the good guys – we don’t go recruiting child soldiers.” Pharynx refused to back down. “Different times call for different measures, Chrys. Maybe it’s obscene by other standards, but other standards went out the door when ninety percent of the world’s population was killed in a matter of days. And she has nowhere else to go, no family. So better us than no one at all.” Chrysalis looked at him, and then at the kid, fiddling around with a tablet while Smolder stood over her. At first she thought the teen was screwing around with it, but then it became clear that she was studying. “I, uh, had my sister send me the current curriculum that her school uses,” Sandbar told Chrysalis. “Figured if she could learn that, we can eventually get her into a good school after the war’s over. By then, she can do whatever she wants, even if it isn’t in the Company.” “I see.” Chrysalis rubbed her chin in thought. “Do you love her, Pharynx?” “What?” “Simple question, simple answer: do you love her?” Pharynx looked at his boss. Finally, after a few minutes, he said, “A couple of times, when she’s slept next to me, she’s called me aupok.” Another pause. “That’s Khmer for father.” “Then after this operation, I expect to see you at the Mountain, to fill adoption papers for her, got it?” Chrysalis told him. “Because if you don’t…” The woman looked at the teen, who continued to engross herself with her learning. “…you’ll have given me a golden opportunity to get Shining to do something final, if you get what I mean.” “You wouldn’t.” “I would. And unlike you, I would also make her go to school and have a normal life. So make your choice: normal as you define it, or normal as everyone else does.” CANTERLOT, COLORADO 231339TJUL30: “I’m sorry, Scoots.” Sweetie Belle looked at her old friend. “I didn’t mean—” “I know you didn’t. And it’s water under the bridge. Look, with you and Bloom out of the picture, I need to be out there.” She got up from her chair. “I need to get some sleep, and I need to check on Grady.” “That’s just it! You keep talking about Grady, but he doesn’t love you, Scoots!” “Yes he does.” Scootaloo sighed. “Yeah, so okay, we’re not having hot, steamy, bedbreaking sex all the time, but he loves me.” A soft smile came over the girl’s face as she added, “We’re even going to get married once this is over.” “Why? So you can be in a loveless marriage? So you can spend the rest of your life with a guy who is never going to get you hot and bothered?” “And so what if he doesn’t? So fucking what? Not everything in life has to be about ‘oh, he’s great in bed, therefore I must put a ring on it!’ He’s sweet, he’s kind, he doesn’t beat or ignore me – doesn’t that count for anything?” Sweetie groaned at the old argument. “Scoots, please don’t make this about what happened to us after Sunset left.” Scootaloo raised her voice. “And why shouldn’t I? He was there for me when you two abandoned me! When my family threw me out and when Rainbow said she wanted nothing to do with me! Grady was there for me and if he wants to use me as his personal plaything or never touch me, then fine – he’s earned that much from me!” The two glared at one another for a few silent moments before Scootaloo wordlessly picked up her rifle and left Sweetie’s apartment. Sweetie stood there and looked helplessly at the door. She then felt a kick in her stomach. Reaching down to pat her stomach, the woman cooed, “Your aunt loves me, little one. We just have a past to get over. But she’ll love you and be there for you, too.” Unable to do anything else, Sweetie went down and sat by the radio. With Button working on the special project for Hera, and Bloom in the hospital for the next few days, she was going to be mostly manning the radio by herself for the moment. Since she couldn’t be out there in the field, it was the next best thing she could do for the cause. The radio clattered to life. “Olympus, this is Splash 6. Do you read? Over.” Sweetie immediately slipped on the headset and cued the system, then grabbed a pad and pen so she could write stuff down. “We read you, Splash 6. I see someone made a big impression with the Octos – that your handiwork?” “It was. We needed to insert a team and they’re inbound now. Some of my best people, over.” Sweetie wrote down the message, then thought about it for a second. “Splash 6, are we talking evacuation or freeing Canterlot?” “That’s going to be the call of my on-site field commander. Navy SEAL by the name of Lt. Cmdr. Applejack Apple. She’s one of the best there is and I trust her judgement completely. She’s bringing her SEALs as well as a group of regular Army troops and medics. She’ll be the one to decide the best course of action. I trust there will not be a problem with that?” Sweetie froze at the name, her jaw dropping. Applejack? A SEAL? And coming here? She remembered the last time she saw Applejack; it had been shortly after the truth had been revealed and their confessions about having driven away Sunset. She also remembered the bloody nose she got from Applejack and it had only been Rarity reluctantly standing up for her sister that had prevented the older girl from beating the shit out of her that day. And now she was coming back. And more dangerous than ever. Shaken, she said, “Uh, no, no problem, Splash 6. We’ll be sure to give her every courtesy. I need to let Zeus know. Olympus out.” She immediately tore off her headset and went to change into some clothing that still fit her – pretty soon she wasn’t going to be wearing anything other than maternity clothing anymore and already her normal outfits were too small for her. But she needed to make it over to where Button was, and then to go see Bloom. Someone, after all, had to tell them about the storm that was coming. A storm probably even more hazardous than the Octos.